Could you please advise if the Welsh Government will be a statutory consultee for this project.

I can confirm that the Welsh Government is a Statutory Consultee for this application. However, following amendments made to the Planning Act 2008, Statutory Consultees are no longer deemed as interested parties automatically. There are two ways to become an interested party:
1. Make a relevant representation during the period (not less than 28 days) set by the developer during the pre-examination stage of the process. This period is now open and is due to close on 11 April 2014. Representations can be made through the Tidal Lagoon Swansea Bay project page on the National Infrastructure pages of the Planning Portal website: attachment 1. Anyone who registers with the Planning Inspectorate and makes a relevant representation about the application becomes an interested party in the application. I would strongly encourage this, as this enables the Welsh Government?s views on the application to be taken into account by the Examining Authority at the earliest stage.
2. If a Statutory Consultee does not make a relevant representation, they may inform the Examining Authority of their wish to become an interested party following receipt of the 'Rule 8' letter (a procedural decision that sets out the examination timetable which is published after the Preliminary meeting) but not before.